1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cylinder locks having a lever handle. More specifically, this invention relates to lever handle cylinder locks wherein the lever handle is returned to horizontal by a spring located within a rose which can be mounted to a door at different orientations relative to the horizontal.
2. Description of Related Art
Lever handle locks are conventionally mounted with the lever handle positioned horizontally. This orientation requires that the offset weight of the lever portion of the handle be supported against the force of gravity, and such support normally is provided by a spring that is in addition to the springs commonly used in cylindrical locks to extend the latch. The lever handle support spring is most often located in the rose which is mounted to the face of the door.
The rose surrounds the base of the handle, is generally circular, and covers the opening in the door containing the cylindrical lock mechanism. It is typically held to the door and prevented from rotating by a secure mount or connection to the door. The mounting system most commonly includes mounting holes which extend through the door and studs on the rose which extend into the mounting holes to prevent the rose from rotating. The strength and security of the mounting system is particularly important in resisting vandalism, damage to the lock and unauthorized entry in view of the relatively high leverage that can be applied to a cylinder door lock with a lever handle.
Occasionally, the mounting holes are drilled through the door by the installer, but more often, and particularly for steel doors and other pre-manufactured doors, the mounting holes are provided by the door manufacturer. The mounting holes provided by the manufacturer are often located directly above and below the centerline of the bored opening for receiving the cylindrical lock, however, they may also be provided at various other angular orientations relative to horizontal.
Because the lever handle support spring in the rose returns the lever handle to a fixed location relative to the rose, the varying rotational orientation of the mounting holes for the rose will affect the horizontal position of the handle if a means is not provided to compensate for the various different rotational orientations of the mounting holes.
Heretofore, this compensation for varying mounting hole positions has been provided by allowing the mounting studs on the rose to be moved relative to the rose such that the rose is always mounted to the door in the same rotational orientation. This holds the spring centering mechanism in the rose horizontally, and thereby keeps the handle horizontal. Typically, the studs are threaded and may be moved to various positions around the perimeter of the rose to adjust the rose so that it is always horizontal, regardless of the position of the mounting holes. Other methods of adjusting the rotational orientation of the rose have also been tried.
One difficulty with these methods is the number of the pieces which must be repositioned into the correct orientation on the rose prior to installation. These pieces may be lost or one or more of them may be installed incorrectly.
A related problem is the time necessary to unthread and reinstall the pieces and the necessity for a wrench, pliers, or other tool to uninstall and reinstall the mounting studs.
Another difficulty is the relative weakness of the system when the pieces must be constructed with threads or other elements allowing them to be removed for repositioning. These components are important in preventing the locks from being damaged by the use of excess force on the lever arm provided on the lever handle, and weakness at this point compromises lock security.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a lever handle door lock which is relatively easy to adjust for different mounting orientations without the necessity of tools.
Another object of the invention is to provide a lever handle door lock which has strong mounts between the rose and the door.
Yet another object is to provide a lever handle door lock in which the connection between the lever handle and the rose may be adjusted to allow the rose to be mounted to a door at different rotational mounting orientations to match the mounting holes on the door while allowing adjustment of the orientation of the handle back to horizontal.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.